Pa. job seeker scammed out of thousands

A Pennsylvania man reached out to Action News after being scammed out thousands of dollars. This wasn't your run of the mill scheme.

Brent Carter thought he was getting his dream job, a project management position with pay expected to soar near six figures.

The company was called GB Management Consulting. Its website is slick.

"It looks like a legitimate company," Carter said.

The ordeal began with an email in early September.

"They're telling me in the email that they saw my resume and they are very interested," Carter said.

Carter says a woman named Claire Sanders told him via email, there'd be an assessment period. He'd be assigned a trainer and after a few weeks, he'd take part in a live project.

"My project in particular was to solicit vendors and obtain a bid or proposal for 15 MacBooks," Carter said.

He obtained bids and a woman claiming to be a supervisor called him.

He was ready to buy. The total cost was $33,000.

Initially, he was told to buy the computers and have them shipped to his house.

But since he was not yet an employee, he needed to use his personal credit card. However, he was told he wouldn't use his own money.

He received what looked like a notarized document giving him access to a JP Morgan corporate checking account to transfer money to his personal credit card.

"They gave me a budget of $10,000 and I started to withdraw money out of this account," Carter said.

Carter says the money posted to his card.

But just before he purchased the computers, he says his trainer told him he should buy Apple gift cards instead.

Carter bought the gift cards online and emailed them with the pins to his prospective employer.

His three-week trial period was almost up. He thought he had the job.

Instead, he learned he'd been scammed.

His credit card statement showed the transferred money had been reversed and the gift cards had been used.

JP Morgan told him the checking account was legitimate, but couldn't provide other details since it wasn't his account.

He filed a police report.

Investigators told Carter the checking account was likely hacked.

He had little recourse since the crooks appeared to be overseas.

"The feeling was just heartbreaking," Carter said.

Rob D'Ovidio is a professor at Drexel University and an expert in cyber security. He did a quick online search and learned GB Management Consulting's website is being hosted in the Ukraine.

"Which is a great location for these people," D'Ovidio said.

The criminal enterprises are getting more elaborate and sophisticated.

"And they purposely keep the amounts below the threshold that would garner the attention of a US Attorney," D'Ovidio said.

Carter's bank told him he was out of luck since he approved the charges.

He is hoping this story may help.

A quick check online shows many more people have also fallen victim to this scam.